Rapid Time Tracker

An ultra-lightweight time tracker operating on a local text file.

Rapid Time Tracker

Rapid Time Tracker is an ultra-lightweight time tracker operating on a local text file. Download here.


main-screenshot calendar-screenshot-1 calendar-screenshot-2


Table of Contents


Getting Started

Rapid Time Tracker is built with Electron React Boilerplate. Windows, macOS, and Linux are all supported.

Download binary

Grab the latest binary from the releases page.

Building the binary yourself

If you want to build the library from source:

  1. Clone the repository:
    git clone https://github.com/TommyX12/rapid-time-tracker.git
    
  2. Enter the directory and install dependencies:
    cd rapid-time-tracker
    npm install
    
  3. Build the binary:
    npm run package
    

    The built binary will be in ./release/build.

    • Mac: Go to ./release/build, and open the .dmg file.
    • Windows: Go to ./release/build, and open the .exe file.

Development build

If you want to run a live-reload debug build for development:

npm start

Basic Usage

To add your first record:

Opening a data file

When using the time tracker for the first time, simply create a new data file or open an existing one from the welcome page. The data file will be a txt file that you can freely edit and move (see the data file section).

Recording time

In Rapid Time Tracker, an action means an activity whose time is being tracked. A record means a particular session of this activity.

A record consists of:

Click the Add button to add a new record.

add

Use the record dialog to enter the information. See the fuzzy finder section for tips and advanced usage.

add-record

To create a new action for this record, type a name for the action into the input box. You can also type a hierarchical name (e.g. entertainment: games: minecraft), separated by :. Once you typed the name, press shift + enter to create a new action with this name, then enter again to confirm.

new-action

Once an action is selected/created, press enter (while the input box is active) to confirm. Change the duration of the record if needed, then press enter again to finally create the record.

Note on hierarchy

Records can only be created for leaf actions, which are actions with no children. If an action is no longer leaf, a new child called other will be automatically created and all existing records on the parent will be moved to it.

Visualization

Timeline

The timeline (on the left side) allows you to view records in chronological order. Use mouse wheel scrolling to move across timeline. You can also click on the records to edit them.

Tree

The explorer tree (on the right side) allows you to view the total recorded amount for each action, in a hierarchical structure. Records for child actions, e.g. entertainment: games: minecraft, automatically count towards records for ancestors (e.g. entertainment and entertainment: games).

You can click on the actions to edit them.

tree

To view the total recorded amounts in a given period of time, use the date range toolbar on the top. You can also select the units (e.g. Per day, Per week, Percentage) to display instead of the total.

date-range

A block-visualization of the record times is shown on the right most side, with vertical height of the blocks corresponding to the total recorded duration for the action. You can hover on the blocks to see the exact amounts (depending on the unit option) for the particular action.

Calendar

Click on the Calendar button to switch to the calendar view. In this view, you can view record distribution over time. The block visualization follows the action hierarchy.

calendar-screenshot-1

You can hover on the block to highlight that particular action across the entire time range being viewed.

calendar-screenshot-2

Toolbar

The top level toolbar supports other miscellaneous features:

Advanced Usage

The fuzzy finder

Fuzzy searching

Quick creation

The data file

The data is stored in a readable and editable plain-text format. It will be automatically saved shortly after a modification is made in the app. You can also manually trigger a save by clicking on the save button.

If you edit the data file (e.g. with a text editor), you can make the app reload by clicking on the reload button.

An example data file may look like:

[ACTIONS]
2,routine,#F18928
  1,check email,#9366D7
  3,exercise,#C84BFB
  60,small tasks,#E96338
4,responsibility,#EB5151
  15,misc,#5BF7F5
    16,other,#E5F859
    35,check mailbox,#EDD483
12,entertainment,#83D072
  13,games,#541AFE
    56,elden ring,#F37894

[RECORDS]
2022-08-21 12:16:16,1,2
2022-08-21 13:17:31,3,1
2022-08-21 14:17:54,3,2
2022-08-21 15:18:23,1,4
2022-08-21 16:19:09,60,1
2022-08-21 17:19:34,35,1

The action section stores the action data, which are ID, name, and color respectively, separated by comma. The indentation represents the parent-children hierarchy (space is used for indentation).

The record section stores the list of records, with date, action ID, and duration respectively, separated by comma.